"Enjoy what you are doing and never give up, no matter how difficult and challenging it gets."

My Background

Currently I am the Inside Sales Manager CEE & CIS, which includes regions across DACH, Israel, Turkey, Adriatic’s, CZ, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Montenegro, Greece. And I am also the Account Manager for Germany (coaching in the field).

I have a background in international marketing, business administration and information technologies. I think becoming a passionate IT saleswoman was a natural progression as in sales I can use all the disciplines and knowledge together. It has empowered me to think strategically, and also helped me develop my career further.

Women in Sales Finalist

I was recently a finalist for the Women in Sales Awards (WISA), which was an amazing experience. My manager, Martina Stauch, nominated me for this award. There are quite a few steps to get to the finals I —had to prepare detailed documentation to be qualified initially and there are subsequent assessments as we progress before the final round. It was a bit of a surprise but certainly a fantastic accomplishment for me as I was one of the finalists amongst 500 nominated women professionals in Europe.

This is very motivating and an inspiring recognition for not just me but for my team, other female professionals in sales and Hitachi Vantara at large. I can only look back and say hard work pays off.

Succeeding as a Women in Sales

Hitachi Vantara is a flexible and very supportive organisation for female employees — there’s tremendous focus on learning and career development. Hitachi Vantara gives us the opportunities for growth, to acquire new skills, and add additional dimensions to our work profile. As women, we are empowered to establish ourselves and provided with all the required support &mdahs; you will never walk alone at HV.

Any young and budding female professional must believe in themselves, their abilities, and be open to accepting new challenges. I believe we must leave our comfort zone to achieve success — irrespective of your gender. And no two career paths are the same, hence we should be prepared to deal with unique obstacles and find solutions. As they say, "we can only win or learn”.

Preparing for Success — My Top Tips

My advice is to be curious and positive — go the extra mile, be well prepared and proactive. Enjoy what you are doing and never give up, doesn’t matter how difficult and challenging it gets. From my personal experience, I can say that an empathic human-to-human selling approach makes any seller successful, it’ll make you too. There is one instance, where this has helped me win a very complex project and a prestigious client with a deal value worth in eight digits.